Hackers crack Virginia State Police cars...but for good

Researchers hacked into the operating systems of two Virginia State Police cars to expose cyber vulnerabilities in the department’s fleet.

Researchers hacked into the operating systems of two Virginia State Police cars to expose cyber vulnerabilities in the department's fleet, according to Dark Reading.

In a joint initiative between private and public sector agencies, a 2012 Chevrolet Impala and a 2013 Ford Taurus, both common cars within the fleet, underwent an experiment to test how the vehicles could stand up to a barrage of cyberattacks.

The study was part of a government initiative that was announced in May to protect agencies from cybersecurity threats.

The researchers physically tampered with the cars to demonstrate how even non-networked vehicles can be susceptible to cyber attacks. Once the cars were enabled, the researchers could remotely access the engine, transmission, door locks, instrument panel and other systems.

They also created prototype solutions to block attacks and looked into gathering vehicle data for forensic purposes.

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